‘Crops that shaped the Rodney District’, is a talk that builds on Warkworth Museum’s Auckland’s Fruitbowl exhibition by exploring fruit-growing as one of the district’s defining industries.
Lyn Wade, Morrison Orchard descendant, describes how growers such as the Morrisons of Red Bluff were prominent, but were part of a wider network of orchardists across Warkworth, Matakana, and Mahurangi.
Apples, pears, citrus, and stone fruit thrived in Rodney’s climate, supplying Auckland and shaping the region’s identity as a food-producing area.
The talk touches on the range of crops that supported early settlement and everyday life, showing how both orchards and other plantings contributed to Rodney’s development. Fruit lovers and growers – this one is for you!